Weekly Fury #45 // goodbye March – writer’s block – etsy

It’s time for a March wrap-up!

And also time for me to wail about what I’ve been doing this month, while simultaneously dousing you with photos, and tears of authorhood, and (as usual) flailing about new books. I really like doing recaps.

It’s also been like the hottest March ever. We’ve had scorching days and melting nights, which is very unseasonal. It’s not that I want to freeze my follicles off with winter but…some cooler weather would be nice.

Onwards, shall we?!

THE STACK

What a demure little stack. I’m proud of me.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson: This was a complete surprise from Walker Books Aus (thank you!!) and even though I’ve already read this I AM PRETTY FREAKING EXCITED TO OWN IT.

What If by Rebecca Donovan: Unsolicited from Penguin (thanks!) and I already read it and reminded myself why I don’t like NA romances.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins: Because how can I call myself a Suzanne Collins fan and not read this?!

Skulduggery Pleasant #6: Death Bringer by Derek Landy: Okay, so I actually planned to take a small break from Skulduggery because, you know, pain. But this was sitting on the library shelf and I could not stop myself. I HAD TO GET IT. I’m going to regret it. I love this series.

PROBABLY NOT, BUT LET’S CONTINUE ON, SHALL WE? We have an entire month to recap, I cannot lose it with flail juust yet.

IN MARCH, I READ 32 BOOKS

\\ click the covers to see review //

OKAY JUST WAIT. Yes, I read a lot of books this month, but a) I’m a really fast reader, and b) I haven’t had a great month health wise, which equals, lots of reading, and c) I wanted to clear my TBR for an April-writing-month, and d) I read a lot of small/short books, and e) why am I making excuses for reading?! Gosh. I read. I like it. The end.

BEST BOOK??Oh The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl sticks out the most! It was just so poignant and perfect and contains my newest OTP. The Helpand Every Breath also scored 5-stars!

WISH I’D NEVER READ??Um, definitely Sekret 20. I wanted to read it because it was about the Cold War and set in Germany. The writing was drier than burnt cornflake. ALSO. I would like to burn Before The Fire (har, har, pun intended) from my brain. It was disgusting.

DID I LAUGH??Between my tears, I laughed at the sassy wit in Mortal Coil. Mostly, though, I cried.

COVER LOVE!!DEFINITELY THE WINNER’S CRIME. It is so beautiful to behold. I also quite like Everything, Everything.

CHALLENGES??Only one book for the Fairy Tale Challenge: As White As Snow and it was boring. LE SIGH. But for my personal challenges, I finished the Stephanie Perkins Trilogy with Isla and the Happily Ever After (only 2-stars unfortunately) and Ruins which finished up the Partials sequence. Also 2-stars. SAD ENDINGS. (And my TBR is now down to, like, 10 books, so that’s phenomenal.)

RATINGS??This has been my leanest 5-stars month! Usually I have upwards of four 5-stars, but I ONLY READ 3 THIS MONTH?! Clearly I’m getting hard to please. 4-stars still wins out, so overall it’s a good reading month!

MOST EATEN GENRE??Woah. I think we should take a moment to give me ACTUAL pie because of the sheer diversity I read. Contemporary wins, but Epic Fantasy (!!) which I usually avoid because they’re huge and scary, comes a close second. Peoples, I am addicted to epic fantasy right now.

Ha, are you kidding? I basically just read this entire month. The ultimate aim was to finish as many books as humanely possible so I’d have April free for Camp NaNoWriMo.

But then I got writer’s block.

I basically put The Dead Boy and the Paper Cut in the drawer for now. It’s edited but will probably need a plot overhaul which is…disappointing. Added onto that I’ve had a few setbacks with my writing from all angles and I just — I’m a little down. BUT! I’m sure this will pass once I settle on a project. I don’t like starting half-baked books, though, so I’m still plotting.

OH. And my puppy won first place as “Pet of the Week” in the local newspaper! Consider me endlessly pleased.

I’ve always felt very weird and awkward about self-advertising, but, WELL, shouting out now and then isn’t a bad idea! As you might now, I have an etsy store and facebook page (aptly titled Paper Fury Ink as a play of Inc. because I’m a genius like that). I mostly sell origami, but also mini bookish necklaces! And you should totally check them out because they’re awesome.

how was your march?!! what exciting books have you read? and are you all geared up for Camp NaNo in April? and while we’re on the writing topic…what do you do when you’re feeling down about writing? any tips for me?! and IMPORTANT QUESTION: what book are you looking forward to reading in April?! lemme know all in the comments!

Comments

YES MARCH IS EXCITING. unfortunately it also means that I have a lot of schoolwork, which means I should go and write that essay. Oh well. At least holidays start this week. I spent some of my morning doing maths homework, and some editing a short story so my advice is: think about what you love about your book, and maybe write a spinoff or something featuring that element, feel the love for a bit, and then get back to the plot. But you are a LOT more experienced than me 😉 I’m really looking foward to reading a classic book, probably Emma in April 🙂

Ahh, that is good advice though. ^_^ I kind of need to focus on a new project though, and that's mostly what's bugging me. WHAT IF I NEVER WRITE ANYTHING SPECTACULAR AGAIN? *hyperventilates irrationally* hah. Yes. I'll get over this. -_- OH YAY HOLIDAYS FOR YOU SOON!!! My little sister is on holidays in a week as well! And good luck with Emma!

I used to get writer’s block, but i haven’t had it since i started listening to Stephen King. He sets himself a word count for the day. 2000 words, which i took up, too. He allows himself to write more, but never less. It took some getting used to, but after a few weeks i got into it. I treat it like a job (which I guess it is) and that seems to get my head in the game. It’s worked for four years. Also, reading as much as I can helps. If you read a great book it urges you to want to write a great book. Might not work for everyone, but it beats waiting for inspiration to hit.

Best book I’ve read this year, Half a War by Joe Abercrombie. No doubt.

Woah, you write 2K every day for FOUR YEARS?! Dude, I have infinite respect for you. I've always been an explosion of words and then long periods of….nothingness. >.> So maybe my routine does need an upheaval. *nods*ohhhh, YES, I liked Half a King and I totally need Half a War. It was really inspiring and kind of made me remember why I lovelovelove epic fantasy.

WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE GREAT GREAT MINDS. I decided on that name and then though the same thing “gee no one is going to get this -_-” hA. But whatever. I know it's cool. That's the main thing. AHEM. Aww, Atticus THANKS YOU. He is really rather ridiculously adorable…except at 6am which he thinks is playtime. -_-

Speaking of origami, yesterday I had to fold a windmill with one hand. (Well, technically two people folded a windmill with two hands total, but still.) It was an … enlightening experience. But GAH your flowers are so pretty. And your book necklaces. ARGH.

I’m sorry to hear about the hurdle re: Dead Boys, because for goodness’ sake I really really want the next chapter. But yeah, these necessary rewrites are so nerve-wracking. *looks at own abandoned ms and gulps* Revision blocks are so much more difficult to get through than 1st draft blocks, if you ask me; I mean, I can scribble down 500 words of nonsense and call it a day for drafting, but you have to start getting things *right* for revisions.

Oh. my. gosh. I cannot imagine having the patience/coordination to do that. WELL DONE. AHHH IT JUST ALL WENT TO THE DOGS WITH DEAD BOY. *cries* I really really loved it and it was one of the easiest first drafts every, but yeah, no. I feel like I've lost the heart of the story, which is, a huge huge problem.

woah that is a lot of books. I have read 4 and one was for school. *sobs* School is taking over my life right now which is unfortunate. I’m partway through another book for school (which is really short) and Jane Eyre. In fact, the reason I haven’t read much this month is because of Jane Eyre. I decided that I couldn’t read anything else unless I finish Jane Eyre, so now I’m kind of stuck 🙁 Oh well, once all my exams are over things might be better. And I have a midterm break soon. Yay atticus bean! He’s so cute he totally deserves it 😀

32 BOOKS?! HOLY COW THAT’S IMPRESSIVE. I only read 3 because of all my studying *cries*. And YAY, you read Mortal Coil – how good was it?! My friend just read The Naturals and I’m going to read it next, it looks so good!

STUDYING IS A BIG DEAL THOUGH. AND KINDA IMPORTANT. haa. Omg, Mortal Coil was AMAZING. It is very very unkind on the feels though. I am SO freaked for Death Bringer. Something REALLY BAD happens to a good character in the finale of Mortal Coil but shhhh SOMEONE SHUT ME UP BEFORE I SPOUT SPOILERS. *cries* GO READ IT AND SUFFER WITH ME, KYRA.

Someday I would LOVE my tbr to look like that cute little stack you have! Yeah dream on chuckles….I am in despair at my weakness this month in buying so many books as it has shot my tbr up to 552 again! Ugh. My plan had been to get it down to 500 by the end of March but that plan is shot to pieces! *sulks* Ah well, maybe next month…Happy reading!

OMG. 552?!!! HOW DO YOU SURVIVE!!? I would be so overwhelmed and freaked! I forgot to add in one book I have on my kindle, but I figure that's okay. XD heh. I hope April is a productive reading month for you though!!

I’ve had two five stars this month (I think) but they were REALLY GOOD five stars so I’m happy 🙂 Although I haven’t been reading too much because exams and assignments, lol. BUT WHEN I GO OVERSEAS I WILL BE READING *ALL* THE THINGS. SO GLAD YOU LIKE CINNAMON GIRL BTW 🙂

A REALLY GOOD 5-star is the best of all. Like literally THE BEST. I was so happy with Every Breath, though. So much awesome. I seriously can't get enough Sherlock. Gah. I ALWAYS JUST WANT MORE MYSTERY, MURDER AND MAYHEM. *ahem* I swear I'm normal.

When I feel down about writing I usually go re-read authors’ bios who struggled at first. It reminds me that it’s okay to struggle. I also go re-read the “about me’s” to blogs that are older and took years to grow. Gives me patience. THEN I sometimes take one full day where I don’t even LOOK at my computer or notebook and I fill my time (and mind) with other things or to-dos until I remember that I have something to tell the world and I fall in love with writing all over again. Finally, I will go to a bookstore and find more books to read…that’s my retail therapy 🙂 But don’t feel down! I love your blog! You’re witty and your gifs make me laugh. Keep doing what you’re doing; you’re doing a great job!

Wow, Cait! That’s a lot of books 🙂 I think April will be my month of crazy reading. Did you like Everything, Everything? It’s one of my most anticipated releases, and besides the cover being gorgeous like you said, the story looks gorgeous too. I’d say the most exciting book I read was Every Breath, even though I re-read it. I need Every Word now! (stupid U.S. release date….) Anway, thanks for a fun wrap-up post!

Omg, I LOVED Every Breath so much! I don't know why I put off starting that series for so long…it's absolutely amazing and I'm reserving book 2 from the library asap. xD Ohhhh, I didn't really love Everything, Everything. It was WEIRD. I still totally recommend it, but it does take one's brain on a bit of a spin. 0_0

Wow, you read a lot of books this month. I really want to read The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, but I can only seem to find it in ebook format and I prefer print. I found it in print at one place, but it’s out of stock so I have signed up for them to inform me when it is back in stock, but it’s taking so long.

Wait…is that Dean dancing on pie?! Perfect!

Your puppy is so cute! I love his name!

Sorry to hear that your health hasn’t been too great; hope you are starting to feel better.

I HOPE YOU GET A CHANCE TO READ CINNAMON GIRL. It is so gorgeous and cute and heartfelt. I think I melted while I was reading it. SO Australian too! (Which is probably why it's hard to find in other countries. -_- Australia is rather awful for marketing.)DEAN DANCING ON A PIE IS SO PERFECT.

When I feel down about writing I… stop writing. DON’T ASK ME FOR ADVICE EVER OKAY. (I guess just keep writing until you feel better about it and then delete all the bad stuff?)

I can’t believe March is almost over. I didn’t get to read that much because every time I have an essay due I stop doing all the things I enjoy BUT THEN I PROCRASTINATE ANYWAY, so I might as well have read more. My brain. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s in my head, so I don’t want to insult it. I’m looking forward to some free time and reading in April and I have hopefully great books picked out already! Basically some of your con-artist books, some fantasy and mayyybe some contemporary.

I still can’t believe the the cutest pet contest is actually a thing and Atticus won haha. Congrats again. 😀 (I decided to write one of my essays about To Kill a Mockingbird, which may or may not make sense within in the context of the seminar, but it’s definitely a better subject, so…)

BUT THAT'S STILL GOOD ADVICE. I think I just need to KEEP writing. I tend to go off and sulk in the “I can't write anything and what I do is rubbish” hollows when I need to WRITE and push through it. *gives self motivating talk**flops and reads another book*aHEM. I SERIOUSLY AM NERVOUS BUT EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF LIFE OF CRIME!!! I like only know 2 people who've read it and it's totally underrated!! I keep wanting to reread. xD(TKAM is a great essay topic. I approve.)

Yaaaay you read Snow Like Ashes!!!!! I love that book. Love love love. Oh, and though I am not opposed to Mather, I do like Theron. He’s just so stinkin’ awesome. And Meira!! She was great and funny and epic!!!

I should be editing, haha, but it’s soooo hard. i’m kinda in the same place with my writing. I’m publishing my novella soon, but it definitely needs some work with edits…and I sometimes just want to throw it out the window and write something else. And then my other stories…I don’t know what to write next!!! I’m in love with my Peter Pan and Jack Frost retelling, but it needs more of plot and research and bleh. So when I’m down on my writing (kinda like now) I reread Percy Jackson. 😛

I’m currently reading the Winner’s Curse and aaaah!!! The world is so cool! My inner Latin student is squeeing. Basically, Valorians = Romans and the Herran Peninsula = Greece. Soo cool!!!

Theron and Meira FOR THE WIN I SAY. It's not that I didn't like Mather, I just…didn't feel anything for him? I like how Theron used his brain and didn't just do what he was told 100% of the time. Ugh, editing is hard. I completely hear ya. OMG PETER PAN RETELLING! I write a retelling of it too, once, and I need to edit it with like an axe and a chainsaw. Aghh. Editing is SO hard. xDTHE WINNER'S CURSE IS GOOD BUT THE WINNER'S CRIME IS ABSOLUTELY FEELS-CRUSHINGLY FABULOUS.

What a wonderful week (except for writer’s block…that sucks big time…I’d do little sketches/interviews with all of my characters, or go and look for lookalikes on pinterest)! March was…eventful. Less so than February.

ALSO: ATTICUS BEAN LOOKS SO CUTE! (I’m not surprised that he’s the pet of the week). Which brings me to my next point: we need more Bean-y pics over here!

I read this wonderful book on North Korea (it was soooooooo good – it didn’t feel like I was reading nonfiction at all) this month which I am still flailing over. Gosh, the world is so weird, isn’t it? Ah, that’s why we have books of course – AND I HAVE JOINED THE GAME OF THRONES HYPE! (I just need to find time to watch the tv show now).

Man, I really wanted to do Camp NaNo, but I have stupid exams coming up (I can’t wait for the summer, it’s going to be filled with lovely holiday stuff). It’s still cold here despite it being spring (I should just move to Australia when it’s winter)…let’s hope all the winter-stuff in the UK heads your way and we get some sizzling days (WHAT I WOULD DO FOR A HOT SUMMER BREEZE RIGHT NOW).

Currently reading The Golden Notebook which, despite being jam-packed with big words and yawns, is pretty much THE hipster book. Also dying from laughter and cuteness overload reading The Rosie Effect – Don Trillman IS TOO CUTE FOR MY SYSTEM. Man.

THE ATTICUS BEAN WON'T SIT STILL FOR PICTURES. -_- He's found it's highly amusing to run away when I ask him to pose. Pfft, cheeky ratbag.I need to find time to watch the Game of Thrones show too!! I'm a BIT nervous about it. It's always different from reading/watching but I'm tooo curious. xD I'm like 47% through the book. It's taking FOREVER. I'm not bored or anything, I just don't find a lot of time to listen to my audio.HA YOU CAN HAVE MY SUMMER. I'm so tired of how hot it is when It SHOULD be getting cooler. But don't worry, in a few weeks I'll be whingeing about the cold. xD Haha!I WANT TO READ THE ROSE EFFECT SOMEDAY!!

STILL. That’s a lot of books. Your “excuses” for reading cracked me up. What I do is make excuses for not reading. (School. Ugh. It’s important *nods*)

How do you find all the awesome gifs? That dancing man on the pie is just perfect.

The Green brothers dropped lots of bombs this week. I’m flailing over the Paper Towns trailer. And DO YOU KNOW THAT HANK GREEN ANNOUNCED NERDCON STORIES?? ALL OUR FAVOURITE WRITERS RIGHT THERE (sorry, I should stop abusing my caps lock but still). If you haven’t know…Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Stephanie Perkins, Maggie Stiefvater and more. This is me drooling, right here. Shame for me though because it’s in America…

Ha! XD I don't even know why I was making excuses. >_< People think I'm a super-human reader, but I'm not really, I just have more time to read. heeh. The gifs? Oh I just…I JUST GOOGLE. And that is Dean Winchester so basically if you want a gif about supernatural, you'll definitely find it. 😉 The fandom is insane.OMG I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT NERDCON NOW I NEED TO GO LOOK IT UP.

*actually wearing my Splintered series necklace right now because I basically only ever take it off when I sleep and shower*

SO LET’S SEE. So much to reply to.

I SAW THE PAPER TOWNS TRAILER AND IT LOOKS AMAZING AND I WANT TO READ THE BOOK NOW SO BAD.

(did you know I have yet to read anything by John Green? I keep meaning to read TFIOS buuuut… life.)

I uber want to do Camp NaNo because I neeeed to write.. but life again. In the space of like three days I got two more house cleaning jobs and Imma have to drop one of my babysitting jobs for the summer because I just can’t handle working for FIVE PEOPLE FULL TIME. So… yeah. Hopefully I’ll get to read more(yay for reading to my babysitting kids) but not write because well… aforementioned work. Anywho, I’m hoping a summer-long break will be good for me and this fall I’ll be able to jump back into my WIPs.

I’ll probably end up not starting Fairest OR Ensnared until April so YAY I AM EXCITED TO READ THOSE IN APRIL.

tips for writing… when I have serious block but I KNOW what needs to be written next in my story, I just can’t find the words or motivation, I make myself sit down and write ANYWAY. Even if I feel like every word should be trash and thrown away, I just make myself write and remind myself that “I can edit it later to be the words I want. Right now just get the general storyline down” and after a couple paragraphs my block usually fades away and I’m blasting along having a great time. So maybe that’ll work for you too ^^

(also I’m currently reading Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy and Ally Carter’s writing style in this series makes me think of you so much XD Sometimes I swear it’s like reading your blog posts, the voice is so similar XD)

*actually squeaks and collapses because is so happy about the necklaces* XDXDAHEM. SO YES. Woah 5 people full time is HUGE. Good for you for having so many people want your awesomeness though!! XD Writing does kind of need more free time than reading, right? I always find it easier to read between doing busy things, but writing…I kind of want to COMPLETELY focus. (Well, sort of completely. lol)I feel like I need motivation! HA. I should really just sit down and start hammering something out *nods sagely*ZOMG DID YOU JUST COMPARE ME TO ALLY CARTER? LEMME DIE HAPPY.

Gregor the Overlander was such an amazing book! I actually read it before HG. I’ve been wanting to read Stolen Songbird for the longest time. Great post, and by the way, your puppy is absolutely adorable! 😀

YES IT IS. IS IT NOT THE MOST PERFECT GIF IN THE UNIVERSE? I swear the SPN fandom is insane, but I don't even care, I love 'em. :')I really liked Gregor!! I was dubious, because, like, THG is my ultimate favourite book, but I really love Suzanne Collins writing. XD

March has been an iffy month for me. I read a lot less, enjoyed blogging less, just felt very blurgh, emotionally and physically. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been unwell and had medical problems, that always sucks, and I hope you get better soon and make sure your minions do your work well while you’re not well. You read LOADS, I’m really impressed and that says a lot. I’m not feeling bad about the books I read though because they’ve all (but one so far) been positively fabulous, 4 stars and above, which is amazing!

I saw about your wonderful little puppy getting first place, he’s a right little cutey pie! PIE, everywhere, I love your pie charts, all the time! Such diversity, much good ratings. OH, and good look with Death Bringer, I’m SO SO SO HAPPY YOU LIKE SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT because I love it so and this make me smile!

Never feel awkward about promoting something you made and you are proud of! I’m totally checking your Etsy store out right now and I think those book necklaces are the coolest thing ever.

As for reading this month… compared to your 32 books I look like a total failure with 2 books. Wait no, 3 books because I shall and WILL finish Firefight before the end of the month! But that’s actually my average so it’s all okay.

Eep. THANK YOU, KAYLIE. That's encouraging!! ^_^It's not a failure to have read 3 books! IT IS STILL GOOD. Better than reading 1 book, right? OR NONE. Apparently, I read somewhere, that the average person reads 1 book a year. Omg. I cannot even fathom that.

I have no idea how anyone reads 32 books in a month. That’s more than one a day! (Obviously, I can do math.) 😛 I’m lucky if I get through a book in a week these days. The last time I really read fast was a few years ago when I managed to get through books like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Breaking Dawn in just a few days. I’m so slow now.

I don’t know what I’m going to read in April. I have to read something, or I’ll get way behind on my challenges. Wish I could do Camp NaNo, but I’m not even sure what I’d write. My attempt at NaNoWriMo in November was kind of pathetic; I made it through about four days before calling it quits.

YAY MATH. XD haha. But a lot of them were like middle-grade, and that's basically when I read two a day because they were teeny. WOAH. HP and Breaking Dawn are like HUGE so that's amazing. GOOD FOR YOU. I tend to slow down if I really really love the book, but for the meh ones, I read faster. *shrugs*Ooh, maybe you could do July?! I want to do July! I just have to…focus. And kick this writers block.

MARCH WAS VLOGGLY. I LIKED YOUR VLOG. I'VE PROBABLY SAID THAT A MILLION TIMES BUT WHATEVER. Ahem. School is good. *nods* Unless it swallows your soul and makes you cry with stress, than it is less good. (My sister is in exam week and basically eating chocolate and throwing things. -_-)I do want to aim for July!!I really ought to pick people's brains as to what to do when they're down about writing. Omg, that would make a fabulous collaborative post actually. SOPHIA YOU GENIUS. YOU GIVE ME GREAT IDEAS. Omg, I love If I Stay! I hope you like it. xD

OH IT WAS VLOGGLY! I kinda forgot about that. Whoops. *laughs nervously*

School regurgitated my soul during spring break and so I made cookies to celebrate and all was good. In five weeks I will be free! That is what keeps me from dissolving again. (Also, I have leftover cookies. That also helps.)

*bows* See I’m so genius it just comes out without me trying! (And YES that would be a great collab post and it would help me so much! *waits impatiently*)

You read a lot of books, it is verrrrry impressive. Even if some of them are short still. I need to get my hands on Stolen Songbird one day. I really do want to read it butttt I just never can seem to find it besides on Amazon. Ah well. Glad you had an awesome, but sick, March! Good luck at Camp NaNoWriMo

Exactly, right?! The WORLD recognises his adorableness! ^_^ Stolen Songbird looks soooo good I'm like a million percent excited. And plus the cover for it (and the sequel) are so BEAUTIFUL. I'm totally shallow, but I love pretty books. xD

I’m sorry about your health, but I’m glad you took advantage of the time to read a lot!

My favorite (non-re-read) books of the month are The Tainted (Glenda Larke), All Our Yesterdays, and The Orphan Queen.

There are so many books coming out next month, it’s hard to choose. I think I’m most excited for Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, but my answer might change in an hour. There are also quite a few March releases that I’m still waiting for at the library.

It WAS nice to plough through so many books and my TBR is like so manageable right now. xD It's refreshing. heeh. All Our Yesterdays…ohhh YAY! I really want to read that book and literally only hear good things about it!! OMG SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA LOOKS AMAZING. I only read 5-star reviews for it, which is kind of making me hype it quite high, but STILL. It sounds adorable. XD

I hope you will get un-down about your writing! D: *huggles* Mostly when I get that way, I take a week off from writing. Which… is probably not what you want to hear a couple days before Camp. 😉 But it is seriously SO USEFUL to tell myself I'm not ALLOWED to write for a week. Which promptly makes me rebel against my own rules and WANT to write and then all the inspiration attacks me. Heehee.

And I have a STACK of books I'm dying to read in April, INCLUDING THE SECOND HEIST SOCIETY BOOK BECAUSE I READ THE FIRST ONE AND ALDKJFKSJF HALE AND I LOVED IT. <3

I'm not doing Camp because I'm still recovering from other deadlines but I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AWESOME CAMP NANO!!! 😀 YOU WILL BE FANTASTIC! <3

IT IS SO AMAZING I LOVE IT AND I'VE MISSED OUT ON SO MUCH BY AVOIDING IT FOR SO LONG. haha. It's weird though, I avoid it, but I actually write a lot of it. 0-0 #weirdcait It's nice totally getting sucked into a new world. I haven't been writing for a few weeks! soooo, I wonder if I need to stop sulking and just pick a project and start?! GAH. My brain feels really full and unfocused. >_<I NEED TO READ THAT SECOND HEIST SOCIETY BOOK. OMG. SO MUCH TO READ.

Wow, 32 books; I only read four XD. But seriously though, I wish I could read as fast as you. What’s your secret? Anyway, I’m really excited for April! So many books are coming out, but I’m especially excited for Magonia and An Ember in the Ashes.

Quick side note: Stolen Songbird isn’t really about music (it’s about trolls), but the protagonist is a singer, so I guess that counts.

Sacrifice a lemon peel under a blood moon and sing a song backwards while eating pie. THAT IS THE SECET. *hyperventilates* My magic is aaaall coming clear. XDXD Omg, Magonia sounds AMAZING. I've heard it's weird, but I don't even care. It's like compared to TFIOS and Neil Gaiman right?! NEED. (Gah. Sucks Stolen Sonbird isn't about, you know, actual music, but singing is still music. I was hoping for a piano or something in there. haha .I don't know why!)

I'M SORRY ABOUT ISLA. I was obviously moody that day?! OMG YAY ANOTHER THRONE OF GLASS FAN!! *flails* Crown of Midnight is AMAZING. Like it's so brilliant I basically threw the book and sulked because CLIFF HANGER.

You had such an awesome reading month! That’s great, but I hope you start to feel better. I think my favorite read this month was Seraphina. It was SO spectacular. I think I read 10 books, and that was the only five star 🙁 Ah, well. It was still a lovely month!

Gosh, I laughed so hard at that gif. I was listening to Elvis Presley’s All Shook Up right as I saw it, and it was just….perfect. Ahaha. *wipes tears from eyes* Thanks for that.

Ohh I LOVED Seraphina!! I read it like 2 years ago so the details are a bit fuzzy, but I remember loving it a LOT. Music AND dragons?! Like seriously, I need the sequel. Are you reading the sequel?!YOU ARE WELCOME. 😉

32 books in one month! Wow Cait, you are a legend 🙂 Atticus is so adorable, he definitely deserves to have won a prize like that! Coincidentally, I read a book about the Cold War set in Germany this month too O.O It was called ‘Stasiland’ by Anna Funder (an Australian journalist) and actually really interesting – though I think that’s a lot to do with the fact that the storytelling was actually really mesmerizing, even if it was non-fiction.

Ohh, I'm going to look up Stasiland then, because that sounds a LOT better than the sucky book I read. (I was so so disappointed. Everything German in YA seems to be about WWII, so I was excited to read something different.) and the cover also promised “spies” and there were totally no spies. -_-

You like writing recaps? Well I like reading yours missy, they’re also chock full of your humor and BEAUTIFUL PIE CHARTS <33

GIRL YOU NEED TO READ STOLEN SONGBIRD NOW. And love it just as much as I did <33 It's truly amazing and I need you to join me with my constant fangirling love for it.

Pshhhh, look at Cait trying to explain her crazy amount of books consumed [; No need to explain girl, just allow us to be in awe of your book polishing talents. And own it, because it's seriously impressive. But hey, I'm actually ahead of my (measly) GR challenge myself. Haha I'll take what I can get.

That supernatural pie gif just made me actually burst out in laughter. Perfect usage as always Cait. Ooooo and I've never actually heard about The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. But guessing from your lovely 5 star rating it's definitely worth being on my TBR and checking out.

OMG <33 Of course Atticus won pet of the week. He's slowly taking over the world with his cuteness, I can see it already. Local newspaper is the first step, next he'll be trying to get on all of the major media outlets [; world domination with cuteness will come later.

!!! Paper Towns, ahhhh. The trailer was brilliant and made me so excited for the movie. I had my reservations regarding Cara as Margo at first. I mean I love her as a model, but an actress??? Idek. HOWEVER, the trailer totally proved I didn't have to be worried. She seems like an natural Margo to me now (:

As for my most anticipated April release? Definitely An Ember in Ashes. So much hype surrounding that one but omfg. It seems so worth it.

WELL I'M GLAD YOU LIKE MY RECAPS. THAT TOTALLY MAKES MY DAY. PFFT, MY ENTIRE WEEK. YAY, THANK YOU, LARISSA. *tackle hugs* XDXDOH yay! Being ahead of challenges is a GREAT feeling. Seriously. I'm like, um, 50% through my challenge, but I don't plan to read much in April, so that should balance it out, right?! ;-)I wasn't too worried about Paper Towns being good, because the actors are all pretty undiscovered and usually that's okay, it's just GAH. I was worried it wouldn't look anywhere near as good as TFIOS. BUT IT DOES LOOK SPECTACULAR I'M SO EXCITED.

NEIL GAIMAN IS LIKE, AMAZING. HE IS THE KING OF BOOKS, HONESTLY. I love his humour. Everything Everything was…weird. 0_0 I was so surprised to get approved for it on Netgalley! I almost never get approved for stuff so YAY.

OMG CAIT! You’re going to love I’ll Give You the Sun – it’s so beautifully written and powerful! Looking forward to seeing what you think of it. Also Stolen Songbird is fantastic – especially if you’re in an fantasy phase right now. The world-building and romance are absolutely fantastic, so I hope you end up liking it as much as I did! xD

And darn! You read so many books this week! How do you do it?! TELL ME YOUR SECRETS! Haha!

Thanks for sharing Cait and, always, lovely recap! ♥ (And yeah for Atticus Bean in the paper! HE IS SO STINKING CUTE!)

I have read I'll Give You the Sun already. xD I think we both gave it 4-stars? PFFT. Of course we did. #bookishtwins And yes! I CAN'T WAIT FOR STOLEN SONGBIRD WITH MY FANTASY APPETITE. I plan to eat it asap.

Um, I had NOT seen the Paper Towns trailer yet, because I was scared to look, but you convinced me to and… MY GOODNESS! I think it looks SO GOOD. I was scared, of that model girl as Margo. BUT- now I am good. I am really good.

Also, you should totally promote your stuff! Because it is AMAZING. And 32 books this MONTH!? I have only read 32 books this YEAR. So yeah. I am jealous, is basically the point of my story 😉 Also, kind of jealous that you’ve read Everything, Everything.

I should be jealous of your warm weather but honestly, I HATE super hot weather. I would prefer the yucky cold and snow that we are (STILL!) having to like, some 100 degree nonsense. (I don’t know what that is in Rest-of-the-World Celsius. Sorry.) 38, I looked it up, I didn’t want to be “That American”, you know.

I am awfully good at forcing people to do things, right?! *nods* I'm glad you looked, though, because DOESN'T IT SEEM FANTASTIC!?! I think the model-girl will be fabulous…she seems to have the Margo attitude down quite well. xD. ha. I'm interested to see how much of the movie she gets, because she wasn't actually IN a lot of the book, right??I was SO surprised to be approved for Everything Everything on Netgalley because it said “UK only”. Ha. And I just thought “what the heck” and clicked AND THEY LOVED ME AND FORGOT I WAS AUSTRALIAN. *dances*I am a woeful person when I'm cold. So I don't know why I'm complaining about the unexpected heat, hehe. I'm used to the…90s, I guess? In your language? 😉 I'm an absolute mess when it gets down to like 10 degrees C (that'd be 50 in your langague) because MY FINGERS GET COLD AND IT'S NOT FUN. But we don't really have heating in Australia, so when it's cold, we just put extra jackets on. Sucky. 🙁

Feeling down about writing is the WORST. My advice is to take a step back for a little while; read some books, watch some shows and movies, write something different–and do something that will reignite inspiration again. 🙂 Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April?? That might help 🙂

HELLO!!!
I’ve been off commenting for a while. That’s really bad, isn’t it?
Anyway, nice month, gurl!!! Loved all the books and the gifs. Me likey! I actually really loved What If. I loved the mystery and I think I may have fell head over heels in love with Cal. Eh, its okay if you didn’t. Means I have him all to myself. Hahahahahaa. Wasn’t Winner’s Crime amazing! NEED the next book now. Arin and Kestrel are so annoyingly stubborn but I just need them together!
Great recap, Cait!

You read more books in March than I have read this year so far. I have been in a HUGE reading slump this month and only managed to finish 3 books which is pretty bad for me. My blog ended up turning into a completely different kind of blog this month because I wasn’t reading and had nothing to write about! Hopefully I’m out of it now though.

I love the cover for Everything, Everything! So pretty. I’m glad you said As White As Snow was boring because I just finished the first one and wasn’t that impressed so I didn’t know whether to continue or not. Now I’m thinking NO.

HOLY SHIZZ GIRL YOU READ 32 BOOKS?!?!?!?! YOU ARE A READING SUPERWOMAN AND YOU ARE THE READER TO EMULATE. I BOW DOWN TO YOUR GREATNESS; HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH!!!

No, seriously, 32 books is an AMAZING feat. I’ve read 32 books IN THREE MONTHS. I haven’t been doing the extra mile when it comes to reading, it seems… lol

And I’m happy to know that Stolen Songbird has gotten to your doorstep and book shelves safely!!! <3 LOOK AT THAT SPINE IT LOOKS SO THICK (that's what she said!! … okay that doesn't sound funny when a girl says it). enjoy these books, lovely!!!

I can’t even imagine reading that many books in a month. I can’t even get through one a week. Probably because I don’t have the time management skills to get all my classwork done and still have time for reading. “The writing was drier than burnt cornflake.” I actually laughed out loud at this. I’d say I’m probably most excited for Rook or An Ember in the Ashes. CONGRATS TO YOUR DOG!

First of all how on earth did I not know you had a puppy, all of the time I’ve read your blog posts and never came across this. It is the cutest thing ever! (apart from my dogs of course). Secondly, I clicked on a few of the images of the books your read but the link to the reviews never worked 🙁 sad times, I especially wanted to see your review of The Help as it is one of my favourite books, but it never worked! And finally, I’m most looking forward to reading the rest of my TBR pile which includes Derren Brown’s book and Karen Brady – Strong Woman.

Wow! A whole month of just reading books, that’s like- a dream come true. 😉 But I am sorry that you were sick. That is never fun. (I usually can’t read when I’m sick. All the world blur together. Kind of like when you sight read music for too long.)

April- the month of writing! What will you be working on? Or is that top secret? I’ve been working on Oddball the Sequel recently. I’m so excited because I’m almost up to 30,000 words. . . that doesn’t exactly mean anything though since I don’t have an end word count in mind. But I don’t let that get to my head because it’s nice to know that I’m at least making some kind of progress.

When I’m stuck on writing, I do a lot of different things. Sometimes, I just stop writing and do something else for a while. Reading is usually a good remedy (it seems though you’ve been doing that. . .). This last time though, I did something way different. I had each of my characters write a letter to each other. I was having trouble capturing their own personalities in the story, so this was supposed to help. For instance, when writing Rocky’s letter I thought about 1) who would Rocky write, 2) why would he write to this person, 3) what kind of tone would he have, 4) a spin off of 3, what would his word usage be? Sometimes I do other “off the books” writing for the characters, just to kind of refuel. The “off the books” stuff helps me a lot actually.

You have had a crazy busy month! I have reading envy over your 32 books! One of the downsides of having small children is that I don’t have nearly as much uninterrupted reading time as I used too but if a few years I’m hoping to be back up to that! Great books this week and it’s too bad about the NA romance. I’ve never read a NA romance so I don’t know how I feel about them. I don’t care for the idea of YA romances but that’s mostly because I have teenagers and it’s hard to separate mentally! Have a great week and hope your health issues are behind you!

Your etsy creations are heartwarmingly wonderful, dear. c: I read such an appalling number of books last month, I’m actually quite distressed about it. O_O And insanely jealous of your 32 books, but nevertheless WELL DONE YOU! *huggles*

Any creature called Atticus Bean will of course be Delightfully a-Dorable. But still. Congrats little Bean. :3 Did you like Half A King? I adored that one. I’m reading The Sin Eater’s Daughter now and just added The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl to my TBR. That sounds like a great read.

As always, thanks for sharing your trademark entertaining posts and I hope you have another great month! Ciao, peace. x

I’ve read like one of these books actually, which is a little sad. I think it’s Snow Like Ashes. This month, I read like three books because I’ve been in a slump but I’m hoping that I come back full force for April!

I’m also doing Camp NaNoWriMo, or at least, I planned to but I’m not sure now because I have so much to do. I might have to really take things slow with it! But I definitely wish you all the best girl (:

I am so impressed with you reading that many books in a month! That’s more than one a day on a couple days. You go! I think I read maybe 10-12 this month? Did you review The Sin Eater? I think I saw you didn’t like it? I also read Nightbird this month. I’ve yet to write my review…for some reason it was being rather difficult to write for me. I hope you feel better this coming month!

CAIT thank you so much for featuring my post here! I am honoured (although I do have 2 n’s but no matter, a common thing with an unusually spelt name!) My gosh you must be SUPER PROUD about your puppy getting featured, so cute! I bet that one will be framed and placed on your fridge! I am constantly in awe of how much you read per month. What did you think of Talon? I thought that one was so disappointing. I am super happy to hear that you loved The Help, it’s one of the best books I’ve read! Thanks for sharing hun <3

Oh, gods, Awesome-Cait. Don’t even let me get started about HOW MUCH I’M CRAZY EXCITED FOR SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA BECAUSE I CAN’T. I CAN’T EVEN. *Sobs in the corner about the fact that this book comes out on Tuesday and I have to wait indefinitely because Philippines.*

But any road, amazing March read? Easily Winger by Andrew Smith! AAAAAAHH! HE IS GENIUS! Have you read this one? TELL ME! *Cue: one of my favorite Loki gifs.* The character voice is just so impeccable and the storytelling masterful! You should’ve have seen my review! I basically spouted my love in a very inarticulate manner. (I am such a loser.)

Can we please stop and worship THAT I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN COVER? BECAUSE REALLY. THAT. IS. FREAKIN’. BRILLIANT. COVER. (Pun not intended.) But seriously. I’m holding up reading this book because I’m waiting for this particular cover. It just hits all my I-bought-the-book-because-of-the-cover buttons!

And wow. You devour books! You’re a monster! You’re a monster and I want your gene!

And, lastly, I’ve been feeling lately that my WIP is going nowhere, which frustrates me. So. I hope you have a fun and productive Camp NaNoWriMo!

Woot! Go you for catching yourself on making excuses. 😉 It always bugs me when people do that for reading a lot/not reading a lot. Like, you have done nothing wrong, why are you apologizing?

My excitement for Camp NaNo is spilling out my ears. I have so many ideas and POSSIBILITIES for my story once I get past the dreaded beginning. Beginning’s are hard, and I am rarely pleased with the first one I write. Especially when I write fantasy-type stuff. I always feel the need to explain the rules of my world and the magic used there ALL AT ONCE and end up generally confusing the reader (and sometimes myself). But that’s what first drafts are for, I suppose. How’s your book coming along?